Insurance of Live Stock. 



[APRIL, 



Re-insurance. — Out of 981 cattle insurance societies 702 w ere 

 affiliated to larger insurance societies, which guaranteed their 

 stability by means of subsidies. The amount contributed 

 varies, being sometimes a fixed amount per head or sometimes 

 a proportion, usually about one-third, of the net loss incurred 

 by the local society. The funds of the re-insuring societies 

 are derived partly by a levy on the local societies in proportion 

 to the value insured and partly by grants from the provincial 

 and central governments. The horse, pig and goat societies 

 are affiliated in the same way to larger re-insurance societies. 



France. 



Under the fostering efforts of the French Department of 

 Agriculture mutual insurance has made extraordinary progress 

 in recent years. Until 1898 no assistance was afforded by the 

 State to these mutual insurance societies, but since then 

 a sum, which has gradually risen from £10,000 to £30,000, has 

 been annually included in the Agricultural Budget. This 

 sum is devoted, in the first place, to making grants to newly 

 established societies in proportion to their members in order 

 to defray their preliminary expenses of formation and to give 

 them a few pounds in hand. The sum given is usually about 

 £20. Small subventions are also given to societies which 

 suffered exceptional losses during the preceding year, and are 

 based on a scale which takes into account the amount of the 

 loss, the premiums paid and generally the efforts made by 

 members to make up the required sum. 



In order to facilitate the formation of these associations 

 some legal difficulties as to their constitution were removed 

 by a law passed in 1900, and they were also exempted from 

 stamp and registration dues ; while in 1902 the Minister of 

 Agriculture, in a circular letter to the Departmental Professors 

 of Agriculture, urged upon them the importance of doing 

 everything in their power to promote the establishment of 

 societies of this character. As a result, it appears from the 

 Minister's report (Bulletin Mensuel, June, 1907) that the pro- 

 gress has been as follows in rather less than ten years :— 



No. of No. of Capital 



Societies. Members. Insured. 



December, 1897... 1,469 87,072 2,366,000 



May, 1907 6,730 355,6oo 15,396,000 



